ARKANSAS PREVENTION NEEDS ASSESSMENT (APNA) STUDENT SURVEY
To help schools with the needs assessment and meet No Child Left Behind requirements, the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention through the Department of Health and Human Services will conduct its annual Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment (APNA) Student Survey. Only one class period is needed. The 2005 survey is scheduled to be administered to all participating public schools anytime between November 7 – 18, 2005. The focus of the student survey is to collect data on health risk behaviors such as alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and violence that can result in injury and/or impede positive development among youth. The survey also includes risk and protective factors, which include attitudes and opinions that research has shown predicts involvement in these health risk behaviors. All public school districts are offered the opportunity for students in the 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade levels to be surveyed at each participating school.
Data gathered in this survey addresses the State Outcomes and Targeted Measures of the State of Arkansas Strategic Prevention Framework and will be used in a broader effort to help plan for the prevention needs of the State of Arkansas at the county, regional and state levels. That is why all schools are asked to participate. Individual building and district level report data can be used for prevention planning for each district.
WHY SHOULD A SCHOOL DISTRICT PARTICIPATE?
Ø Provides data for the No Child Left Behind reporting requirements AT NO COST TO the district.
Ø Provides valuable information on health risk behaviors such as alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and violence that can impede positive development among youth.
Ø Uses Risk and Protective factors that predict the involvement in these health risk behaviors.
Ø Identifies the prevention needs for the school district.
Ø Gathers information related to substance abuse, violence, delinquency, and non-attendance on school properties.
Ø Gathers information regarding factors that may indirectly affect intellectual development and career planning goals of the student.
WHAT WILL THE SCHOOL GET?
Ø Local data including a district level report and individual building reports for each participating building (if there is an adequate number of respondents).
Ø Trend data on drug and alcohol use rates, age of first use, delinquency rates, student perceptions of drug and alcohol health risks and social acceptance, and levels of risk and protection.
Ø The opportunity to provide valuable data to those in the community involved in prevention planning and those seeking funding for prevention efforts.
The district’s results will be made available to the school Superintendent during the spring semester of 2006.
For information on how to participate or to get a copy of the State of Arkansas’ Strategic Prevention Framework planning document, call Ray Edwards at the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention at (501) 686-9965 or Tommie Waters at (501) 686-9515.